What does Uber mean for Canberra?
Journalist Henry Belot explains how Uber will work in the ACT and what it means for passengers and drivers.
PT1M51S 620 349When ride sharing first came to Australia in April last year, no one could have imagined how the simple act of sharing a ride could be such a powerful economic engine. In the past month, 20,000 people have driven with Uber in Australia – 5500 in Sydney alone.
Uber is often said to be part of the on-demand economy, because anyone can now push a button and get a ride. But another benefit of the on-demand economy is that people can work whenever and wherever they choose. The ability to push a button and get work – earning an additional $1000 or $3000 a year – can significantly improve the quality of life of many families. There is also the extra security that comes from being able to work here and there to make ends meet, as more Australians are feeling the pinch. Research by Choice this year showed "across-the-board increases in cost-of-living concern for Australian households, with 65 per cent of consumers cutting back to cope with the financial pressure".
For most people, driving on Uber is not even a part-time job. It's just driving an hour or two a day, here or there.
Now, ride sharing is offering people a new way to work, on their terms, and in doing so, boosting the incomes of thousands of Australian families who need it most.
The ride-sharing platform Uber allows people to work whenever and wherever they like.
People are choosing Uber because it offers them the kind of work they want: work that provides a good income with the autonomy, flexibility, and dignity that comes with being their own boss.
This new way of working is important. Most driver-partners are not making a decision to do this for a lifetime, or even for a long time. They are sharing rides because they choose when they drive, where they drive, and for how long. They set their own schedule hour by hour, day by day, and week by week. For most people, driving on Uber is not even a part-time job. It's just driving an hour or two a day, here or there. It also includes drivers just using Uber to find passengers on their commute to their office – fulfilling the car-pooling vision that cities have been promoting for decades.
However, even as these benefits are being felt in communities across the country, the opportunity to enshrine the right of Australians to economically empower themselves hangs in the balance.
As governments across the country prepare to follow the ACT's lead and regulate ride sharing, a vocal minority are calling for prohibitive and arbitrary measures, such as an eight-week wait to get on the road and excessive financial outlays, which disproportionately disadvantage those who need access to flexible income the most.
When asked about their circumstances before driving on Uber, two-thirds of our Australian driver-partners said they would have struggled or been unable to pay a $250 fee to join. The unemployed would have struggled the most. These drivers need support to get work. They don't deserve to face extra financial costs and red tape as they try to get on the road.
Governments have a role to play in realising the benefits of ride sharing. Sensible regulations and modern technology can deliver safety outcomes without introducing unnecessary red tape or high licence fees. For a city planning to invest billions on more transport infrastructure, it would be a huge missed opportunity to get in the way of technology that makes better use of the 2.7 million cars Sydney already has.
In an era of stagnant wages and rising cost of living, ride sharing gives people an opportunity to earn additional income, bridge gaps in work, and provide for their family, all with the flexibility to work when, where and how they want.
Australians need to know their governments are agile enough to open up the economy to let them work on their own terms and prosper. I hope they seize the opportunity.
David Rohrsheim is general manager of Uber Australia and New Zealand.
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